The present invention relates to a lock for covers of compartments to prevent the opening of the cover. In a preferred embodiment, the present invention relates to a lock for compartments of hand-held electronic devices to prevent the easy removal of the batteries.
Releasably closeable compartments are utilized in a number of hand-held electrical or electronic devices. For example, most hand-held electronic devices which are battery-operated have a battery compartment which is releasably closeable by a cover. Such a cover generally is provided with tabs at one edge for insertion into mating holes in the edge of the compartment and a biased latch at the opposite edge of the cover for latching against a mating part of the battery compartment. Such compartments are easily opened by merely releasing the latch and lifting the cover away from the compartment. In most circumstances, where the electronic device is owned and operated by a single user, it is desirable for the cover to be easily removed from the compartment. However, in circumstances where the electronic devices are utilized by a plurality of users, such as in a school or other institution or commercial setting, it is desirable to ensure that the cover may not easily be removed so that the contents of the compartment may not be tampered with. This would be of particular benefit in a school setting where many students would be using the same electronic device, such as a calculator. In these circumstances, it would be of benefit if the teacher were able to ensure that the students did not have easy access to the battery compartment. This would also be of benefit where the compartment may contain memory cards or program cards or other such devices which are critical for the operation of the electronic device.
The present invention is directed to a lock for locking the cover of a compartment to prevent opening of the cover. The cover is provided with a biased Latch at one end which is movable between a latch position for latching against a mating locking lip of the compartment and a release position to allow the cover to be removed from the compartment. The lock comprises a means for insertion into the biased latch once the cover has been attached to the compartment to prevent the biased latch from moving to the release position.